Journal of Gender and Social Issues

Autumn 2019, Vol. 18, Number 2

©Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi

Teachers' Perspectives and Challenges in Assessment of Revised Teachers'

Training Programs

Abstract
This study investigated teachers' reflective perspectives regarding
assessment practices of revised teachers’ training programs in the Punjab
province by employing qualitative approach. Faculty members of the two
universities and their affiliated colleges (N=18) where these programs are
introduced were interviewed and the texts were coded and analyzed
qualitatively by employing Grounded Theory Approach (Creswell, 2003).
The main perspectives that emerged as a result of analysis are graded
activities, criteria for marks allocation for formative assessment,
summative assessment, concept of rubrics, evaluation of student ability,
freedom of academic sharing, satisfaction level, problems that are
encountered by the teacher educators during assessment practices and
suggestions for improvement. In a nutshell, the interview data revealed
dissatisfaction of the teacher educators with the assessment system of
revised teachers’ training programs.
Keywords: Assessment Practices, Rubrics, Teacher Educators, Prospective
Teachers, Grounded Theory Approach, Thematic Analysis.

INTRODUCTION
Assessments are an essential component of the instructional process. The success of
any education system directly depends on the efficient practice of its assessment
process. This process helps the teachers and educationists to make judgments about
students’ academic performance. For effective functioning of the instructional
process, the teachers require information regarding the levels of students’
achievement. Through this information gathering process, the teacher can locate the
under achievers and students who are capable and ready for the next class. The
National Education Policy 2009 being the latest, proposed phasing out the teacher
education certification programs PTC and CT courses with a 4 year B. Ed by 2018.
The bridging program of Associate Degree in Education (ADE) was being introduced
__________________
Prof. Dr. Bushra Iqbal Chohan
Department of Education, Government College for Women, Zafar ul Haq Road,
Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Mussaret Anwer Shiekh
Ex-HoD, department of Education, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi
100 Sheikh & Chohan

for prospective teachers. These reforms in teacher education programs demand

teacher educators to engage prospective teachers in thinking and reflection about their
learning. It was also anticipated that the new degree would emphasize learner
centered, active learning approaches that would encourage the development of
requisite skills and dispositions for teaching, in addition to content knowledge.
Research studies of assessment practices attempted to determine the alignment of
assessment practices with approaches toward learning and teaching that are embedded
in the curriculum and instruction (Biggs, 1996; Brownstein, Allan, Ezrailson,
Hagevik, Shane, & Veal,, 2009; Martone & Sireci, 2009). These studies contributed
in developing a description of classroom practices and are therefore, based on
qualitative approaches. In the Pakistani context, literature reveals some studies done
on instructional practices in schools (Naeemullah, Inamullah, Sarwar, Muhammad
&Hussain, 2010; UNESCO, 1997), but there are none on assessment practices in the
teacher education institutions. The present study attempts to fill the gap, with the
hope that it will raise further questions for more research on the assessment practices
and their influences on instruction, specifically in pre-service teacher education
classrooms.

The universities which introduced B. Ed (Hons) and ADE programs have prescribed
assessment policies to do away with the traditional method of declaring the students
fail or pass. Keeping in view this changed scenario, the basic aim of this study was an
exploration of teachers' reflective perspectives regarding revised teachers training
programs in the Punjab. The current study was conducted in 2012. Two universities
and their affiliated colleges teaching B. Ed (Hons) and ADE programs were selected
randomly with all the teachers in the sample institutions being the population of the
study. A total of 18 teacher educators were selected as sample of the study. In order to
elicit in-depth information regarding assessment practices, these teacher educators
(N=18) were interviewed. The epistemological position of the research team also
suggested that for generating in-depth data, they would have to interact with the
teachers as key informants, talk to them, listen to them and gain access to their
insights and articulations in order to capture their “lived experiences” (Hesse-Biber &
Leavy, 2006, p.317). A semi-structured interview (SSI) protocol was prepared to
obtain in-depth information as to how the assessment instruments were assembled by
the teachers in the first place. The interview protocol for teacher educators from
colleges and universities was developed to understand the process followed by
teacher educators in constructing assessment tools. Teacher educators were probed to
elicit responses regarding test blue prints; rubrics for allocating weight to each
cognitive trait and criteria for deciding the number of items relevant to each cognitive
trait included in the mid-term and final term papers.
Teachers' Perspectives and Challenges 101

Research Questions
1. What is the degree of alignment between the content and cognitive traits
embedded in the course objectives and those being assessed by the formal
assessment activities in B. Ed (Honors) and ADE Programs in the Punjab, as
measured against Bloom’s Taxonomy?
a) What content and cognitive traits are embedded in the course objectives
of the pre-service teacher preparation courses?
b) What content and cognitive traits are assessed in the selected courses
through the two most heavily weighted formal assessment instruments
administered in the selected courses of B. Ed (Hons.) and ADE?

Data Collection Procedure

The study was conducted in 2 stages:

Stage-1
The first stage involved the following steps:
1. Development of interview protocol.
2. Procurement of formal approvals from all the concerned university officials
including the selected teacher educators.
3. Development and training of research teams for the collection and analysis of
data.

Stage-2
At the next stage, for developing an in-depth understanding of the processes involved
in the development of the instruments, we conducted SSI with a sample of teacher
educators (N=18) drawn from the population of teacher educators teaching in selected
institutions.

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

The analytic procedure of the interview transcripts was based on immersion in the
data and repeated organization, coding, and constant comparisons, which are the main
features of grounded theory approach. “The core feature of qualitative data analysis is
the coding process” (Creswell & Clark, 2007, p. 132). “Coding is a central part of a
grounded theory approach and involves extracting meaning from non-numeric data
such as text” ( Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2006, p.349). It is a “process of grouping
evidence and labeling ideas so that they reflect increasingly broader perspectives”
(Creswell & Clark, 2007, p.132). The other important feature of grounded theory is
“constant comparison” which is a procedure where the researcher compares one
component of the data with the other components of the same data to find out
similarities and differences among them (Lodico Spaulding, &Voegtle, 2006, p.272).
102 Sheikh & Chohan

For the purpose of qualitative analysis of the interview, transcripts of the participant
teachers, codes and categories were sorted, compared, and contrasted until no new
codes or categories were produced. This was followed by “a procedure called
‘discriminant sampling’ where the researcher posed questions that relate the
categories and then returns to the data and looks for evidence, incidents and events
that support or refute the questions, thereby verifying the data” (Creswell, 1998,
p.209). The entire text was then organized in terms of major themes that arose from
the data analysis. “Themes are typically ‘big ideas’ that combine several codes in a
way that allows the researcher to examine the foreshadowed questions guiding the
research” (Lodico, et al., 2006, p. 307). The pattern of themes characterizes “a
necessary dialogue between data and researcher, which emerges from and then helps
to further make sense of data, and to provide a structure for writing” (Holliday, 2007,
p.94).

Several themes emerged from the interviews of teacher educators. These themes were
later grouped together into larger perspectives that provide an answer to the
qualitative research question (Creswell & Clark, 2007). The main perspectives that
emerged as a result of analysis are graded activities, criteria for marks allocation for
formative assessment, summative assessment, concept of rubrics, evaluation of
student ability, freedom of academic sharing, satisfaction level and problems that are
encountered during assessment practices and suggestions for improvement. The
detailed description of these themes is as follows:

Graded Activities
Participants were asked about the graded activities in their B. Ed(ADE) and ADE
programs. It was revealed by the responses of the informants that various types of
graded activities were practiced in different institutions. There is no homogenous
practice in institutions in this regard, and institutions were not restricted to any
specific pattern by the university. Following are the activities which were practiced to
assess the students of B. Ed (Hons.) and ADE programs in sample institutions.
• Mid Term paper
• Final Paper
• School based task
• Home Assignments
• Presentations
• Projects
• Portfolio
• Class Participation
• Class quiz
• Reflective journal
Teachers' Perspectives and Challenges 103

Criteria for Marks Allocation for Formative & Summative Assessments

Participants belonging to university 1 expressed that they assigned different
percentage for the activities. For example in a 100% mark allocation, 20% is allotted
to mid-term and 80% is for final term. The 20% is further divided as given below:

Mid-term 10%
Assignment 5%
Presentation 3%
Attendance 2%

The participants of university 2 revealed that they had different criteria for marks
allocation for formative and summative assessments:
Final-term 60%
Mid Term 20%
Portfolio 10%
Class Participation 10%

Concept of Rubrics
Rubrics can be used in assessment process, and individual student assignments and
projects. Wolf and Stevens (2007) defined rubric as “a scoring tool used to evaluate a
performance in a given outcome area based on a list of criteria describing the
characteristics of products or performances at varying levels of accomplishment (p.4).
The concept of Rubrics was clear to most participants although there was some
misconception in usage of rubrics i.e. they perceived marks division for different
parts of questions as rubrics. Division of rubrics was done in terms of content,
handwriting, relevant material and references. Most of the instructors also expressed
that they share rubrics with students. However, this sharing was only for the portfolio.
At the same time, some participants revealed that the activities or assignments are not
designed in the line of some defined rubrics, nor are shared with the students in
written form; instead they verbally inform students about their marking criteria.

Evaluation of Student Ability

Mid-term and final-term test were taken in the sample universities in written form.
Responses of these tests revealed that they assess students’ cognitive abilities through
different types of activities. Research has also demonstrated that for assessing
students’ abilities, other curricular activities should be used in addition to written
tests. Kotzé, (2002), stated in this regard that “time-restricted written tests and
examinations alone do not suffice any more, although there will always be a need and
place for covering certain basic knowledge and skills in a more traditional way (p.79).
The participants expressed that through role play activities they analyze students’
abilities and evaluate students through their self-expression, problem solving skills,
104 Sheikh & Chohan

and communication skills. In presentations, they judge students’ exploration of

innovative ideas (creating). The daily routine activities provide opportunities for
analyzing and evaluating the students’ abilities such as their ability of good recitation,
their manner of discussion in class, ability of singing songs and being active
participants throughout. The participant teachers further revealed that their instruction
is predominantly exam oriented as they have limited available time to complete the
syllabus, and the university gives only 20% of the total marks for mid-term exam,
projects, assignments and class participation. Therefore, their main intention during
teaching is only that their students should pass the final exam and they are always
worried about how to prepare the students for the final examinations.

Freedom of Academic Sharing

Participants stated that they have the freedom of sharing their experiences with
colleagues and this interaction between instructors is mainly for the development of
assessment tools. Participants further stated that their discussions with faculty
members are focused mainly on the development of assessment techniques and for
the arrangement of resource material. Similar findings are revealed in a study by
Wright, Burnham, and Hooper (2012) who stated that faculty members have
collaborated on research studies, manuscripts, books, teaching pedagogies, and ideas
for years (p.43). One of the participating teachers Mr. S.M stated:

“We discuss with other faculty members while constructing mid-term papers
and other assignments in a formal meeting held for this purpose.”

Satisfaction level
Most of the participants were not satisfied because of lack of instructions on marking
criteria, instructions regarding exam papers, no intimation of the schedule for final
exam.

The teacher Ms R.C complained:

“We do not have any advance material to teach the students in practical
way and prepare them for assessments, that’s why I am not satisfied with
the current system of ADE program.”

Problems encountered regarding assessment practices

The teachers say that they faced a number of problems in the construction of midterm
and other related continuous assessment in the form of assignments, quizzes, and
projects/presentations since the only marks allocation with them in the new system is
only 20%, which is very little for doing justice to all the assessment practices.
Teacher Ms I.K said in this regard:
Teachers' Perspectives and Challenges 105

“Pattern has not been given by the university about the percentage of marks
in objective as well as subjective.”

All participants complained of no uniform criteria for marks allocation in universities

which are offering B. Ed (hons) and ADE programs. They were of the view that each
university has set its own criteria for assessment practices.

The thematic analysis of the interview transcripts of teacher educators revealed that
the teachers assessed their students’ abilities through different types of activities such
as presentations, projects, portfolios and class participation. Data also revealed that
majority of the teachers did not have a clear concept of rubrics. Mid-term papers were
set by the respective teachers, but the teachers focused mainly on final-term exam
preparation, instead of measuring students’ abilities. The hard copies presented by the
teacher educators of the portfolios and projects etc. during interview sessions also
reflected that they only assess their Remembering and Understanding abilities.
Participants’ data also expressed their dissatisfaction regarding the marks allocation
policies of the two universities, since university 1 had given comparatively more
freedom to the affiliated colleges for internal assessment. However all the participants
agreed that at least half the share should go to the internal assessment system. They
believed that the respective teachers can assess students’ abilities more accurately.
As far as university 2 is concerned it gave only 20% weightage of the total marks for
internal assessment of the affiliated colleges whereby 10% was reserved for mid-term
test, and the remaining 10% assigned for all other activities such as projects,
presentations, class participation etc. The participants from university 2 were
thoroughly dissatisfied with this small percentage and complained that they could not
assess students’ abilities properly through this restricted allocation of marks.

Contributions of the Study

The current study has uncovered several issues related to the evaluation of teacher
education at grass roots level and offers practical recommendations to improve the
situation. Although majority of the problems encountered during the data collection
phase were not directly related to the main objectives of the study, they had very
close connection with the quality of the teacher education system of the country. The
research team realized that some recommendations based on the observations during
the field visits would also be valuable in the improvement of teacher education. It is
anticipated that the recommendations based on study findings and the observations of
the research team can make distinctive contributions in the following major areas of
teacher education:
106 Sheikh & Chohan

Awareness-Raising among Education Policy-Planners and Administrators

The focus of the present study is basically to look at the teacher educators’ practices
of assessment which affect Teacher Education in Pakistan. Presently, the policy
planners and administrators of teacher education in Pakistan are concerned about
quality assurance in this area. The development of curricula, courses of study in this
process etc are aimed at following a consistent, coherent and cumulative approach for
prospective teachers graduating from universities and colleges. The revised B. Ed
(Hons) and ADE programs are planned to offer an opportunity to make interactive,
inquiry oriented teaching and learning methods a new reality in the classrooms of
Pakistani schools. Field data regarding interviews of teacher educators revealed their
dissatisfaction with the prevailing assessment system of B. Ed (Hons) and ADE
programs. Participants were of the view that the new system is not clearly defined and
therefore needs not only improvement in assessment practices but greater interaction
with the teachers through different workshops and training. Policy-planners should
pay attention to the teacher educators’ problems at grass root level. Due to lack of
complete awareness about ground realities, their policies will continue to prove
unsuccessful.

Awareness-Raising among Teacher Educators

The findings of this study will give awareness to teacher educators in realizing the
significance of rubrics while assessing their students; the study informants used
rubrics for assessment, but they did not have any idea about using standard criteria,
such as the criteria used in this study. The research team had discussed the usage of
cognitive levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy as rubrics in assessment practices with teacher
educators in interview sessions. It is anticipated that awareness about proper usage of
rubrics in assessment practices is raised in interaction with teacher educators during
data collection process and the study findings as well. The study findings would help
teachers in making efforts to develop rubrics in accordance with all levels of Bloom’s
Taxonomy.

The present study provides information of how teachers can handle problems related
to assessment practices. The personal experiences of the research team during the
whole research process and especially in the data collection process suggest that there
is still a large gap to be filled in for enhancing and improving the prevailing
assessment practices of teacher education. Prospective teachers should know how to
promote and assess critical thinking across curriculum. Wright, et al., (2012) have
stated that faculty adhere to traditional methods of sharing work and thus may be
unwilling to try new, innovative methods of co-creating writing products, which can
be more efficient and manageable (p.43).
Teachers' Perspectives and Challenges 107

CONCLUSION
The quality of teacher education is of primary concern in the present era of
globalization and educational standardization. Central to the idea of a quality
education is the quality of teaching provided by teachers to the students. Assessment
practices are directly related to quality education. Therefore, prospective teachers
should be exposed to appropriate assessment practices. They should also be explicitly
taught about multimodal assessment practices during their pre-service and in-service
teachers’ trainings. Research studies also give practicable suggestions in this regard.
Wilson and Scalise (2006) proposed process for discussion named moderation and
explained that:

Moderation is the process by which instructors, teaching assistants, readers,

students and others involved in a course discuss student work and the scores
for work, ensuring that scores are interpreted similarly by all in the
moderation group. In instructor moderation (p.657)

A follow up may therefore be done with the National Curriculum Review Committee
to examine if the curriculum objectives of all courses in the 4 year B. Ed and 2 year
ADE programs adhere to the assessment practices that encourage students to think
analytically and critically, with understanding by applying knowledge in a creative
manner.

Recommendation
Participants proposed that the instructors should be given an opportunity of sharing
assessment practices with other faculty members and educational experts. In this
regard, they further proposed that senior faculty members from affiliated colleges
should be consulted while constructing final term assessment papers. Participants also
suggested that frequent meetings should be arranged especially at the start of the
semester to set the criteria of rubrics for all the assessment practices. All participants
expressed their dissatisfaction with the marks allocation criteria. They proposed that
at least 50% marks should be allocated for the internal assessment of the affiliated
colleges, so that they can assess their students properly.
108 Sheikh & Chohan

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